National Uproar Forces Schedule Changes - few new African American shows in the 1999 fall television lineup

Ebony, Nov, 1999 by Kelly Starling

A glimpse at this season's prime-time television schedule will send you reeling back in time. Before The Jeffersons, before Good Times, before Sanford, and Son became family favorites, all-White programs filled the airwaves with rare exception.

The lineup of new shows this fall seems eerily reminiscent of that formula. Despite the overwhelmingly White makeup of most of the 26 programs debuting on the four major networks, at EBONY press time, ABC, CBS, NBC and even FOX (once it haven for new African-American shows) did not have one new prime-time program featuring a predominantly Black cast. Instead, to find shows with mostly African-American faces, you need to turn to upstart networks such as UPN, WB or cable.

The virtual blackout of programs by and about African-Americans has the NAACP and others demanding change.

"How can anyone call themselves informed and put on a schedule devoid of people of color in a country that calls itself a melting pot?" asks Tim Reid, veteran actor and co-creator and co-executive producer of Showtime's Linc's. "Well, the pot has melted totally on network TV; in fact, there is no pot. If we are to reflect what the country is thought to be around the world, we need to have people [in executive offices] who have an interest in reflecting that reality."

A potential lawsuit against the four major networks by the nation's oldest civil rights organization resulted in a dash to add Black Faces to an otherwise ivory landscape. Reports say new Black characters will be added to NBC's Law & Order, ABC's Wasteland and Fox's Manchester Prep. But while insiders say they are pleased with the increased opportunities for African-American actors, they say it will take more than a couple of cast changes to reverse the disturbing pattern on network television.

"We need more people of color in the executive wings of the nation's studios," says Reid. "Until that happens, we will have the same situation again and again. We need more people of color in rooms where decisions are being made. Someone has to say, `We have to pay more attention to reflecting the America we live in.'"

The popularity of Black shows among network executives seems to go through cycles, say Black television insiders. Consider the comparative bounty of the late '80s TV with Black programs such as The Cosby Show, A Different World and Amen with the mostly White fare of the late '90s. According to the Washington-based Center for Media and Public Affairs, in 1992 nearly one out of every five characters on prime-time network entertainment programs was African-American. Last season, that number dropped to one in 10.

"Sometimes, we're in, sometimes, we're out," says Sara Finney, co-creator of Moesha and executive producer of UPN's The Parkers, and who has also worked on such hits as Family Matters, The Parenthood and 227. "Network TV tends to be more of a follower than a leader. If you have a show like Friends with six White people that is doing great, you want another show with six White people that will do great. It's a shame because the reality is we are a part of everyday America like everybody else."

Finney says this season is one of the worst ones for African-Americans in recent TV history. Not only is the prime-time lineup lacking Black shows, but several favorites are gone: Sister, Sister, The Wayans Bros. and The Smart Guy among them. This translates into fewer Black faces on TV and fewer Black writers with jobs.

"For some reason, people think Black writers are only capable of working on Black shows," says Finney who got her start wilting for The Jeffersons but has also written for the predominantly White comedy Married ... With Children. "There have been reports that Black people don't like Frasier and Friends. But there are plenty of us who do and we can write those shows as well as we can write Moesha."

Debra Wilson of Mad TV says the public shouldn't be surprised by the mostly White makeup of fall TV.

"If you had paid attention to the shift of television a couple of years ago, it was moving in the quirky, White, young society direction," says Wilson. "Mad TV pokes fun at that in a sketch we call `Pretty White Kids with Problems.' The voice-over that starts the program talks about Dawson's Creek and all the shows that are geared toward young, White audiences. There's a major shift moneywise in the television industry that's going on in the film industry as well."

While TV executives say their choice of new shows is based not on personal preference but on financial decisions, many say the exclusion of African-Americans and other people of color in front of the camera and behind-the-scenes is bad business. According to advertising experts, African-Americans spend more leisure income and watch more TV than other racial groups--an average of 40 percent more throughout the day.

"The industry should reflect behind and in front of the camera the buying power that people of color have," says Reid. "When you start thinking of $500 billion of buying power ... forget race ... it just makes sound business sense to respect the consumer through letting the business reflect its purchaser."